First Rotation

[Milly12]

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I'm an incoming P3 and am on my first community experiential rotation. The thing is, our pharmacy fills at most 100 Rx's per day. I've worked at a couple of big chains previously and they were busy all the time, maybe up to 800/day. Basically I went from one extreme to another.

My question is for those that have had an extremely slow or uneventful rotation: What do you do to keep busy? I've tried asking for things to do or things the pharmacist might want to show me, and all I'm told is "I've got nothing for you right now but I'll let you know when I do." I can only follow the pharmacist around so much while he's doing inventory/ things that have nothing to do with my internship. I know the basics of how a pharmacy works and have been filling, counseling, and have done some transfers/ taken some new scripts with no problem, so there's not much to teach in that area. But even those are maybe 20 a day at most.

Thankfully I have a school project I've been working on for up to 5 or 6 hours a day per 8 hour shift. However, when I complete that, I can imagine myself sitting there twittling my thumbs for half the day after getting all the day-to-day tasks finished like putting up the order, filling what few scripts that need to be filled, etc. Sooo, how would you handle it? Keep doing what I'm doing and finding things to pass the extremely long day or press him harder for more challenging or just plain more tasks or training? It's going to be a long rotation and don't want to be going nuts just sitting there with nothing going on.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

If you have ADD, go off your meds and daydream all day.

That's what I did...

 

[Milly12]

If you have ADD, go off your meds and daydream all day.

That's what I did...

Lol... This may be the only time I wish I had ADD, so I could have an escape from that place in daydream land. I mean it just drags on and on. I've got three weeks more of it : ( The pharmacist and tech are very helpful and approachable and will answer any questions I have about a certain drug regimen, but those also are few and far between. I'm trying to stay positive and get the best out of the internship and actually apply some of the stuff I've learned in school, but there just isn't enough going on at this place.

It's summer, so of course it should be slow for that reason alone. Also, not many people know about this pharmacy since it's inside a multi-specialty practice instead of on a corner like many other pharmacies. All of this adds up to a near worthless internship in my book, unless someone else has some advice or will share their experiences.

 

[DrWrong]

Lol... This may be the only time I wish I had ADD, so I could have an escape from that place in daydream land. I mean it just drags on and on. I've got three weeks more of it : ( The pharmacist and tech are very helpful and approachable and will answer any questions I have about a certain drug regimen, but those also are few and far between. I'm trying to stay positive and get the best out of the internship and actually apply some of the stuff I've learned in school, but there just isn't enough going on at this place.

It's summer, so of course it should be slow for that reason alone. Also, not many people know about this pharmacy since it's inside a multi-specialty practice instead of on a corner like many other pharmacies. All of this adds up to a near worthless internship in my book, unless someone else has some advice or will share their experiences.

Maybe, since you probably aren't going to do anything useful in the storre, You could start brushing up on stuff you feel you'll need for your next rotation? I mean, at least then you won't feel like you're worthless.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Get to know the pharmacist and staff. Talk to the them about: yourself, your previous pharmacy experiences, major news headlines, etc. Ask them about: their lives, pharmacy operations in-detail (management stuff), obscure drugs that you don't really know a lot about, etc.

I work at an older major retailer and rotate at a "jack of all trades" independent, institutional setting right now. So, both locations have long lag times that I try to feel with *quality* conversation...

🙂

 

[aboveliquidice]

Get to know the pharmacist and staff. Talk to the them about: yourself, your previous pharmacy experiences, major news headlines, etc. Ask them about: their lives, pharmacy operations in-detail (management stuff), obscure drugs that you don't really know a lot about, etc.

I work at an older major retailer and rotate at a "jack of all trades" independent, institutional setting right now. So, both locations have long lag times that I try to feel with *quality* conversation...

🙂

+1 This is an intangible aspect of our job. You have to get to know your coworkers if you want to develop any meaningful professional relationship. They have to trust you. By asking them questions and learning about their lives, you show a personal interest.

Aside from that. I would get in the habit of reading pharmacy news sources. I read ASHP, Pharmacist Letter, Pharmacy today, and IDSA. Reading these keeps me in the loop as to what issues are going on right now in pharmacy - and what is still on the horizon.